Movie-mode dynamic electron microscopy

The need to understand fast, complex physical phenomena through direct in situ observation has spurred the development of high-time-resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Two complementary approaches have emerged: the single-shot and stroboscopic techniques. Single-shot TEM has advanced through the development of dynamic transmission electron microscopy (DTEM) and, more recently, by the advent of movie-mode DTEM, which enables high-frame-rate in situ TEM experimentation by capturing nanosecond-scale sequences of images or diffraction patterns. Previous DTEM studies produced only single snapshots of fast material processes. Movie-mode DTEM provides the ability to track the creation, motion, and interaction of individual defects, phase fronts, and chemical reaction fronts, providing invaluable information on the chemical, microstructural, and atomic-level features that govern rapid material processes. This article discusses movie-mode DTEM technology, its application in the study of reaction dynamics in Ti–B-based reactive nanolaminates, and future instrumentation.